Teenage Dreams--Bangcroft & Black Stories
by xrandomgrrl23x
Summary: The Sequel to Moments-Amelia and Sirius are back from a very long summer, and have to navigate not only year four of Hogwarts, but also their feelings for each other and the growing rumblings outside the hallowed halls. Something is brewing, whether it be love or hatred, and soon, someone will have to stand and fight... Sirius/OC, Jily, Cannon pairings. Please be kind
1. Chapter 1

Returning to the station after the summer was nerve-racking for Amelia. She was anxious, hormones in a frenzy. It irritated her, that someone, one person, could have such an effect on her.

She entered onto Platform 9 3/4 with this attitude, and resolutely determined to ignore said person until such time she had decided that he had made up for this summer. She was determined that this would be with a great many apologies, and begging. There would be lots of begging, if she had her way.

Amelia pushed her cart towards the train, waving goodbye to her parents, ready to go. Her stuff was not on the train yet, but that was easily fixed, and her parents wanted to return home, both for fear of what could happen, and also because her father was close to inventing a new broomstick. It heartened her to think that her father's zeal for inventing was the stronger part of this need.

Amelia had turned to wave to her parents as they passed through the barrier, and in doing so, had exposed her peripherals to a person she had not been hoping to see for some time. At least until she had thought of the proper way to make him sorry for the summer.

Sirius spotted Amelia in the haze of the station and felt a strange contraction in his chest. He lifted his hand for a wave, but when he saw her turn away, he was disheartened. Perhaps she had never gotten his letters, his explanations. Stuck in his house the entire summer, he had thought that the one bright spot of this day, other than being allowed out and going back to what he thought of as home, would be Amelia. If she had gotten his letters, she should've understood. He hoped she understood.

Amelia was distracted, seemingly, by the dilemma of moving her trunk up into the train.

"Bangcroft!" she heard a voice behind her. Turning, she found Frank Longbottom behind her, grinning like a fool. "Bloody hell, what are you doing? Where are your parents?"

"Dad had to get back to the office. Got a new broom on the boards," she said with a smile, aware of Sirius staring at her from afar.

"Yeah? You gonna give me first pick?"

"Always, Longbottom," she said with a laugh. "But you've got to do something for me first."

"What is it?"

"Give me a hand?" she said, gesturing towards the pile of trunk, carrier for cat, and other accoutrement of a student at Hogwarts.

"Only if you help with mine," he laughed.

"Fair's fair."

He laughed, and nodded his assent. With his help, Amelia lifted the trunk into the car, then returned the favor.

"How was your summer, Longbottom?" she said as they climbed into the car together, depositing steamer trunks to be moved into the checked area, and grabbing their bags for the ride and carriers.

"Ah, you know. Same as always."

"Frank!" Alice's voice carried through the car, and Amelia couldn't help but laugh as Alice launched herself into Frank's arms quite violently. It was a very good thing that Frank was sturdily built, as he probably wouldn't have been able to withstand the onslaught otherwise.

"Alice! Can't be without Frank for more than a week, I'd guess?" Amelia teased.

"Not even that! Barely the weekend since we last saw each other," Frank retorted, keeping his arms around his girlfriend from childhood.

"Well, Frank, you're an addiction. I'm just sorry I never got a taste of the drug that has our Alice going crazy!" Amelia giggled, slapping Frank on the back. "I'll see you later!" she said, hoisting her bags onto her shoulder and heading off through the car.

"See you, Amelia!" he called back. Alice added her own goodbye to the mix as well. Amelia waved over her shoulder, and proceeded down the narrow hall between carriages.

She was moving at an easy pace, and eventually came to the last of the cars and the last of the carriages. It was completely empty, no one she knew, no luggage, no food wrappers. She slid the door open and entered almost silently.

It didn't take Amelia long to get settled. Her feet tucked up onto the cushions, her cat and bag safe on the other seat. She had ensured herself some alone time, at least until someone she could tolerate showed up desperately in need of a seat. She felt simultaneously that feeling in her stomach of leaving home, and that feeling in her heart of returning home. Anticipation and loss. It was a heady combination that she sought to drown out with some music and a little reading.

* * *

Sirius approached Amelia's carriage with a certain amount of well-deserved trepidation. He knew her reputation, and had even experienced a small amount of her wrath himself. He didn't know exactly _why_ Amelia was mad at him, but was not naive enough to think that she was wrong in her anger. He at least knew testing her was definitely not a good idea. She was sitting next to the window with a book in her hands, headphones on her head. But he was struck with the silhouette she cast into the dying light of the day.

Her hair glowed orange at the edges, full and lush. Her profile, the sharp lines of her nose, and the full ones of her lips, were outlined in blood-red. The darkness of her hair, almost black in normal light, highlighted by warm brown, and the dark-tan of her summer skin, stood out against the brightness of her eyes. The whites, and the piercing green, were under dark eyebrows and darker lashes. She cast an imposing figure.

He knocked on the door carefully, but she didn't hear him. He slid the door open even more carefully, and when she still didn't budge, he moved as silently as he could into the carriage. He shifted her bag and sat down slowly, took a deep breath, then began.

"Amelia," he said. She did not look at him, but simply held a finger up, indicating he should wait. Carefully, she turned at page, slid a bookmark into place, closed the book, and removed her headphones.

"Sirius," she said curtly. He gulped at the set of her mouth and the scrutiny in her eyes.

"Er—How was your summer?" he said awkwardly, not used to operating under a glare from a girl not his family. Most girls he met with were enamored by his cool, mysterious exterior, one that he was interested in maintaining. But Amelia was unlike other girls when it came to this, and he could not think of a time wherein his charms had worked on her without her consent. In fact, most of the time he was with Amelia that he could think of, she was mad at him.

"My summer? It was…quiet," she said. "I was expecting more correspondence, but you know how it is. Everyone forgets about everyone through the exciting vacation."

"So…I take it you never got any of my letters?"

"Oh? You sent letters?" she said, feigning lightness though the surprise struck her deeply.

"I guess…you wouldn't believe me if you never got them," he said sheepishly.

"No. I guess I wouldn't," Amelia said.

He sighed. "Amelia…" he was running his hands through his hair, something he did not do unless he was genuinely agitated. "What can I do to make you believe me?"

Amelia sighed as well. "There is nothing you can do, Sirius, short of abject apologies and begging. And it will take a lot of that." She was up now, at the door of the carriage. Despite all her callous appearance, Amelia was incredibly hurt by Sirius' lack of contact over the summer. She had thought, all her cynicism aside, that Sirius and she had had a real shot. But all of that had been shot to hell over the summer, and despite what she said, and the attitude she projected, she did not think that anything Sirius did would change that.

Disappointed in his silence, she slid the door open and slid out of the compartment. She was ashamed of the way tears pricked at the back of her eyes, and she gritted her hands and balled her fists against it.

"It's a shame my cousin is an idiot," came a voice from the end of the hallway. Amelia immediately recognized it as Bellatrix's, and disappointment in Sirius was soon replaced by anger and annoyance.

"A whole summer," she continued, sauntering out from behind a corner. "A _whole summer_ , and he never once figured out that I was stealing his mail." The curly-haired girl held up a pack of tied letters, a sizable one for the short three months of summer. "And, no, he couldn't have picked up a phone, either. I convinced my parents and my darling aunt and uncle that we need some quality family bonding time." She smiled cruelly. "Quality time in the family castle. Unfortunately, not wired for phones."

Amelia nearly choked on the feelings of anger and hate welling up in her throat. "Why?"

Bellatrix snorted, casting a disapproving eye over Amelia.

"Because," Bellatrix said, very deliberately. " _You_ are not one of _us._ You are _unsuitable_ for Sirius. For any Black, for that matter."

"And you have a say in who he dates?" Amelia retorted.

Bellatrix chuckled, then turned serious. "Stay away from the Blacks, Bangcroft. We don't want you."

"I don't really think that's your decision, Bellatrix," Amelia said, growing angrier.

"It's not," Sirius' voice came from behind her. His arm wrapped around her shoulder. "Bellatrix," he said, holding out his hand, "my mail."

Bellatrix scowled, fingering the package. "Here," she said scornfully, throwing the pack at his feet. "Your dog can fetch it for you."

As Bellatrix walked away, Sirius bent down and picked up the pack of string-tied letters. He considered it a moment, then held it out for Amelia to take. She silently took it, and looked at Sirius. His eyes burned. She slid out from under his arm, and opened the door to her compartment. Keeping her eyes on Sirius the entire time, she shut the door slowly and locked it. She moved back to her seat, knowing that he was watching her, picked up a letter opener from her bag, and slit open the string and the first of the letters. She cast a glance at Sirius through the window, then unfolded the letter and began to read.

* * *

The carriages that drew students up to the castle still unnerved Amelia, even after all this time. She had been here for four years, but the seemingly self-drawn carriages were never a good point for her. She always thought she could hear things that her friends continually denied, always thought she could feel the breath of _something_ when she stood in front of the carriage, always saw actual _hoof-prints_ as they rode the carriages up to the castle. Because of this, she had almost always started out her welcoming dinner on an uneasy note.

It did not help that although Hogwarts was one of her homes, Amelia felt significantly separate from her Housemates. She and most of her House were not of the same cloth, she liked to think. Bellatrix, Lucius Malfoy, and Regulus Black were in control of the majority of Slytherin, either by coercion or by choice, it did not matter to Amelia. The few leftover students were on the fence or not interested in the politics of the real world. She envied their ignorance.

Walking into the Great Hall, Amelia immediately went to the Gryffindor table, giving a cheery wave to Frank and Alice, as well as Trudie and Xeno at the Ravenclaw table, but beelining to the one girl she had sorely missed all summer.

"Lily!" Amelia called.

The curly redhead turned around, searching for the person who had called her name. When she spotted Amelia working her way towards her, she extracted herself from the group she had been greeting, and moved towards the other girl quickly.

"'Lia!" she exclaimed as they hugged. "How was your summer? Did you and Sirius…?" She looked at Amelia expectantly.

"Not talk at all this summer and start off this year with a rocky start? Yes." Together, they cast glances at Black, sitting and goofing off with his friends, all of which Amelia blamed equally for her isolation over the summer, perhaps unfairly. Feeling the eyes on him, Sirius turned around and caught Amelia and Lily's gazes. Lily immediately turned away, blushing furiously, but Amelia kept her eyes on him. Despite what she had read, the evidence did not make her any more inclined to forgive Sirius anytime soon. She still wanted to hate him, if just for a little longer. His eyes kept hers across the distance, and he mouthed "I'm sorry" at her across the hall. She inhaled deeply and slowly, and nodded once, before returning her attention to Lily.

"How was your summer, Lils?"

"Oh, good. Very good. Although…"

"Petunia again?"

Lily looked very pained. "She's always just…I don't know. When we were in Kent, I asked if we could visit the site of Hengist of Woodcraft's last battle, you know? For the historical significance—it's important to non-wizards, too, and she just…"

"Was Petunia," Amelia finished with a certain amount of chagrin. She wrapped her arm around Lily comfortingly, and led her back to the group from which Lily had emerged. "Feel lucky that you even _have_ a sister; there's at least one person in the entire world that will _have_ to love you, not that you have any problems with that." She opened her palm to the group of people waiting, as if it was a demonstration.

"You know, you don't have any problems with that, either," Lily said, watching Amelia's face carefully. She registered the flash of shock that crossed the sharp, hard lines of her friends face before they were settled beneath the poker face mask she knew Amelia used when she was particularly not interested in letting anyone see her insecurities.

"Despite the fact that your House does not appreciate you," Lily continued quietly. "There are plenty of people here who do." Her open palm towards the knot of friends sitting in front of them mimicked Amelia's from only moments before.

Amelia was not happy about being put on the spot, so to say, by Lily. She was just about to point out that this was not about her, but about Lily, when Dumbledore stood up and began making his way to the podium. Amelia was grateful for the excuse to slip away, and hurried over to the end of the Slytherin table, sliding into a seat at the end the row, far as possible, given the crowded quarters, from Bellatrix and her cronies.

"Four years have passed," Dumbledore began, as the hall fell into a hush, "since the start of the war. There are many sides," he said, scratchy voice traveling through the now silent hall. "And many victims. But here," he held his hands open, "here we are united. Family. We must keep that in mind in the days, and years, to come.

"But, let us not forget, the new additions to our family! Welcome young students!" Amelia craned her neck to see the young first-years, eyes wide with wonder and fear, file in. She frowned at the small numbers they made, but quickly turned her minds to other things as Dumbledore brought the Sorting Hat out and began the ceremony. She clapped and smiled along with the other students as new additions were added to each house, but a small corner of her mind dwelled on what Dumbledore had said; the ominous undertones were hard to ignore.

Here, at Hogwarts, it was almost easy to forget there was a war on, almost easy to not think about what the papers were saying, and not saying, and easy to not hear the whispers that rumbled under the surface. But she found as each year passed, it was harder and harder for her to forget, to brush off, the words she heard so clearly when she left the hallowed halls of the school she loved. It made her shift in her seat and move her hands with nervous flutters, a state she was unused to, and not willing to let in easily. But it was a state she was slowly growing accustomed to, and she felt it would only grow more familiar in the years to come.


	2. Chapter 2

Amelia had read through all the letters Black had given her. She had taken each one, individually, and carefully read through them once. Then twice, then in some cases a third time. Each time she had then neatly folded the letter and put it back into the envelope.

So it was like this that Black then found her, later in the term. He had been studiously at the edge of her sphere, hovering in her peripherals, since they had gotten off the carriages at the welcoming feast, trying to make sure he was there if she wanted to ask him something about what he had written, tell him off, anything. But she had seemingly ignored him for the first month of term, even including the first Quidditch game (which was a feat in itself given they were opposing seekers).

He decided the best way to get her to actually talk to him was to just go up to her an actually do it. So at the Great Hall the night before a weekend trip to Hogsmeade, he took a deep breath, and actually walked up towards her.

Amelia was sat, reading, at the end of the Slytherin table, picking at the last of her meal when he walked up to her. Sirius, deciding the best solution was to play everything very, very cool, sidled up to her, sat down, and swung his arm around her with no warning at all. She jumped when she felt the heat of his skin.

"So, Bangcroft, when are you going to give it up and go out with me?" he said.

Amelia was staring at him. It was at about this moment he thought he may have miscalculated the approach and gone far off the deep end.

"Give it up and go out with you?" she mused. "What exactly am I supposed to 'give up'? Please, enlighten me."

Sirius felt his face warm. "Well I-I just meant…that is…"

Amelia quirked an eyebrow. A few tables away, Lupin, Potter, and Pettigrew were looking on with some interest and some perturbed expressions.

"Well your grudge I mean!" Sirius finally blurted out.

"My grudge?" Amelia said dramatically. "What grudge could I possibly have against you?"

"Well, you—Look, you're obviously mad about the summer still. About me not talking to you. But it wasn't my fault! It was all Bellatrix!"

Amelia stood up. "I'm not mad at you because of that Sirius. I don't particularly wish to associate with you at all at the moment, that's all."

She turned and started walking away. Sirius lurched up and followed her.

"But why not? I'm smart, I'm handsome," he gave his best grinning smirk, the one that sent the girls squealing. Amelia didn't even flinch, and continued walking.

Sirius grabbed her arm. "Amelia! Look, I'm sorry about the summer. I should've realized Bella was trying to sabotage me. But I didn't and, I am truly sorry."

Amelia turned and came in close to him. "You-Know-Who has been targeting me. My family. And Bellatrix was behind it, I'm sure. Because of you. I can't be seen with you, Sirius." She turned and again started walking. Sirius was stunned, briefly cutting a look to Bellatrix holding court in another part of the Hall. Amelia was already outside the Great Hall, making her way towards the dungeons and the Slytherin Common room. Sirius raced after her.

"Amelia!" Again, he grabbed at her arm. "I understand. But I thought…" He took a deep breath. "I think we have a real connection, OK? I don't know what it is, but…It may not be You-Know-Who and…well, would you throw that away for the possibility of something bad?"

"Sirius…" Amelia sighed. "You don't understand, you don't know what it's like. Your family is on his side." She started to pull away.

"Ok, ok," he said, moving his hand to hers and squeezing. "I understand. How about we just…make it look like we're studying?"

"Look like? No one will believe that," Amelia said.

"They will. Trust me. I can control myself." He smiled that crooked grin, and Amelia felt something warm tingle in her chest.

"Ok…fine. But keep Bellatrix away from me."

Sirius smiled, a true grin. "I'll do my best."

* * *

Amelia and Lily were having lunch together on the rocks beside the lake, enjoying the late summer, early fall sun that warmed the rocks, but kept a steady cooling breeze going across the lake.

"Sooo…" Lily said, smiling like a cat with a canary in its mouth.

"So what?" Amelia said, ignoring the look and stabbing a fork into her fruit.

"So you've been having a lot of study sessions with Sirius lately. Or should I say 'study' sessions?" she said, putting air-quotes around the word 'study.'

"I don't know what you're talking about," Amelia said, turning her nose in the air and pretending innocence. "We haven't done anything."

"Oh please. And you have to tell me, we're best friends. You have to dish." Lily was staring bullets at her now, and Amelia couldn't help but laugh.

"Ok, ok," she said, holding up her hands in a placating gesture. "What do you want to know?"

Lily gave her a look before returning to her yogurt.

"Ha, alright. Yes, we've been having study sessions. And maybe one or two—"

Another look.

"—Or a few—"

The look returned.

"—Or more than a few—"

"Oh, come on Amelia!"

"Ok, fine. It's more like one or two actual study sessions, and the others are…" Lily was rapt. "…Of a different type."

"Ohhh, you like him!"

"No!" The look. "Ok, yes. Maybe a little. But Lily, it's all we do!"

"What is?"

Now Amelia was the one giving the look.

"Right. I just wanted you to admit it."

"I did not admit anything."

"As good as. Continue."

"Fine. Though there's not much else to say, like I said, it's all we do!"

"Well, is he at least good at it?"

Amelia thought of the way Sirius' lips felt on hers, of the way he could be so gentle and so rough in the same kiss, of the way he made her feel, all with only his lips. Of the way he respected her when she said she didn't think that they were ready for that yet.

"Oh yes," she said, almost blushing. "He's very good."

"But you want…more?" Lily asked, watching her reaction carefully.

"Yeah! I want us to, you know, last. Wouldn't you?"

"So what's the problem? If you want it to last and so does he, you should be fine."

"But that's the thing: I don't know if he _does._ We don't talk at _all_. Every time I see him, all we do is, well, you know. I don't know anything about him. I don't even know if I like him all that much."

"But you just said you did."

"Well, I like what I know _of_ him, stuff I hear from other people about what he's done for them. About how he is. But whenever _I_ see him, I'm not sure I like what I see."

"What is it you see?"

Amelia chewed her lip, getting her thoughts in order. "Well, we actually start every time—or almost every time—trying to study. But he always is distracted and annoying and he never wants to do work."

"And you expected different?"

"I thought maybe he would try, after last year! I told you what he said on the train!"

"True. What else?"

"Well, he's always flirting with other girls, and I know that we're not exclusive or anything, we don't call each other boyfriend and girlfriend or anything like that, but he does it _in front of me_! And then doesn't understand why I'm upset. You know?"

"Yeah. Didn't you also tell him that he had to look like he didn't like you?"

"…Yes."

"So maybe he's just selling the charade. Anything else?"

"His family." Amelia grew serious. "I can't stand them."

"You don't know that, maybe they're really nice, and just don't know how to show it."

Amelia leveled a look at her. "Or maybe not," Lily conceded. "But you haven't met them all yet."

"Lily. They kept me from him all summer on the word of Bellatrix. I don't think I'm going to like any of them. Plus…you know who they're associated with."

Lily sent a glance heaven ward, as if asking for help. "But you also have to remember Sirius can't choose his family, and he's underage, so he can't really get away from them. And he was placed in Gryffindor; for centuries, Blacks have been in Slytherin. Perhaps that's a sign."

"Then why was _I_ placed in Slytherin?" Amelia winced at the wail that crept into her voice. She hadn't meant to let that little insecurity get out.

Lily sighed, concern on her face. She could see how much Amelia was tortured by this, even if her friend kept it closely locked down. "That I can't answer you, only the Sorting Hat can. But perhaps it's not for you, but for Sirius, and everyone else. You show everyone that being in Slytherin isn't what makes you bad, it's what you do. For all these years, there's been this stigma around Slytherin, but you're one of the people that change how people look at the house. You should be proud of it. You're ambitious, and strong-willed, and smart, and funny, and courageous. Don't let what everyone else thinks change that."

Amelia nodded softly. "Thanks."

"And Sirius should know that. He needs to get to know you as much as you do him. And the best way to do that is to tell him you're not happy."

Amelia looked at her friend in wonder. "Lily, how'd you get so good at this? You don't even have a boyfriend."

Lily sighed, looking put out. "I know. I don't know why, I'd be perfect in a relationship. Or at least, I think I would be."

"We need to change that."

"First let's get your relationship worries on track, then we can worry about mine!" Lily said, standing up and gathering her things. Amelia laughed and followed her friend up to the castle as the bells began to chime for classes to begin.

* * *

Sirius and Amelia shared more than a few classes this semester, since the administration thought it was funny to throw together the Gryffindors and Slytherins, which made most classes very tense these days. Since they had been in classes a few weeks already, Amelia was not surprised to see Sirius in her History of Magic class, in was one they had together, after all. And after her talk with Lily, she was hoping that she could speak with Sirius about their—well, _her_ problems with their relationship, or non-relationship.

But that wasn't possible during class today; they a test, and in History of Magic a test was call for seriousness. As soon as Amelia sat in her seat, the test was laid down in front of her, and her glance towards Sirius showed he was already absorbed in the paper, shoulders hunched, and a hand already mussing his hair. Amelia turned back to her own parchment and began.

It wasn't until the bell rang for the end of period that Amelia pulled herself up from her paper again, though she had finished about five minutes before. She had be checking her work one last time, and she hastily scribbled a sentence into her essay before handing in her paper. She gathered her books and pens, and headed out with the rest of the class, relatively subdued after the hour-long test. Amelia beelined towards Sirius, intending to catch him before his next class, which she did not share with him.

"Sirius," she said, touching a hand to his shoulder. As he turned, a piece of paper fluttered out of his pile of books, and Amelia reached down to pick it up. She turned over the paper, glancing over the scribbled words quickly, then again.

"Amelia, I…" Sirius said, his hand reaching to take the paper from her. She snatched it back and continued reading.

"Sirius, is this what I think it is?" she said very quietly, reading over the writing, which was about Goblin Wars and famous witches and wizards and advances in magical understanding. The history of magic.

He stayed silent.

"Sirius?" she said, looking up at him, eyes large. She didn't know exactly what she was feeling right now: anger, definitely, confusion, disappointment. Fear. It was all warring in her eyes.

Sirius did not reply. His eyes said he was warring with himself as well.

Amelia couldn't stand there and watch it. She whirled on her heel and almost ran to her next class, ignoring Sirius' voice as he called her name. She didn't want to talk to him.

It took her all day to decide what to do. She chewed her lip, worried her hands, mussed her hair throughout classes all that day. She noticed Sirius wasn't in the Great Hall during dinner, though she knew that he would never willingly miss a meal. She decided she knew what needed to be done.

"Professor Binns?" she called, knocking on the professor's office door and pushing it open. It was made sure the door was never locked now, since the professor was a ghost, and if it was locked, no one would be able to get in.

"Miss Bangcroft," the professor said in his dry, dulling voice. "What brings you to my office so late?"

"I-I have something to report. Cheating, on your test today."

"I'm surprised it took you so long to come to me, then. Usually you are the first to report treachery found," the professor said, floating up from his seat and through the desk to where Amelia stood, just beside the door, as if ready to flee at any moment.

"I was…unusually conflicted. It was…someone important to me who did…it," she said haltingly, fighting the words as they came out of her throat.

"Ah. This wouldn't have anything to do with Sirius Black, would it?" the professor said.

Amelia looked at him in surprise. "How'd you know?"

"He came in here before lunch and admitted it. Said that someone had made him realize it was wrong to have cheated." He looked at her kindly. "I'm assuming you were the one who made him realize it."

Amelia couldn't speak for the shock. It didn't make any sense to her; the Sirius with whom she had been in contact with would not have done something like this, admitting he was wrong at all. He would not accept punishment willingly.

"I told him to repot the Mandrake crop this year, as punishment. Though I am interested to know how he did it."

Amelia held out the parchment, hand shaking. "Cheat sheet," she said.

"Oh. How…Muggle-like. No magic at all, hmmm…We should look into wards against non-magical cheating, or everyone will start with Muggle conventions…" Professor Binns mused to himself. He seemed to notice Amelia was still there. "Oh, thank you, Miss Bangcroft. You may go."

Amelia walked out of the office still in a haze of confusion. She moved with now knowledge of where she was going, and somehow ended up outside the Herbology rooms, in the cool breeze of the oncoming autumn. Sirius was in there, looking exhausted, earmuffs firmly secured as he uprooted the baby Mandrake, its screech splitting the air a moment later when it realized what had been done. Amelia slapped her hands over her ears as Sirius stuck it into a pot and began quickly covering it with dirt. Once the Mandrake had been fully covered, he leaned back and took off his earmuffs, wiping his forehead and running a hand through his hair, leaving a streak of dirt on his face. He then looked up, taking in the darkness outside the greenhouse, the castle above, and Amelia, standing there, staring at him. Their eyes met, and Amelia tightened her jaw. Her emotions were no longer running wild, and she nodded at Sirius with a cooling smile playing on her lips. She was good for him, she realized as she turned and moved up to the castle again. She just needed to make him see it.

* * *

Amelia was not happy about this. Being chased through the halls was not her idea of a fun day, and she was scowling so much nowadays that she thought that her face might freeze that way, just as her mother had cautioned all those years ago. She rounded another turn into a populated hallway, and her frown deepened. Normally, this type of hallway would mean that Bellatrix and her cronies, who were the ones chasing her, would stop their pursuit. Like any other bully, Bellatrix was scared of the authority that walked Hogwarts halls, and she had no protection here due to name or influence. But today, Amelia was not so sure this was the case, and she didn't want to take any chances.

 _What to do?_ She chewed her lip nervously, casting a glance around the hall. She spotted, then, her way out.

"Bangcroft!" She heard Bellatrix's voice from behind her, and launched herself towards her goal.

Sirius was standing with Lupin, Pettigrew, and Potter, as was his usual game. Amelia was already on top of him before he could have had time to react, pulling him away from his friends and into a corner, and sealed her lips to his, silencing protests or reactions of surprise. She heard Bellatrix enter the hallway, the scattered gasps and the sounds of people rapidly moving out of the way. Amelia did not unseal her lips, did nothing but press herself closer to him.

Amelia and Sirius had been fighting, lately. It was nothing new, nothing that she was not used to since they started doing whatever they classified their relationship as. There were the little things, like him saying stupid things. "Are you PMSing?" was one of the ones she particularly hated. There were other things, like her refusal to help him in Quidditch or to do his homework for him. He thought she pestered him, she thought he wasn't serious enough for his own good. His constant flirting. Her refusal to set up Lily with James. And, of course, there was the one thing she didn't know if she could forgive. Sirius' cheating was something that weighed on Amelia's mind quite often; in classes she had with him, she wondered if he was doing it again, if today was going to be the day he was caught by someone not charmed by his mysteriousness and good looks. Alternately, it was mistrust and fear that gnawed at her when she thought of him and his cheating. She knew that she had been good for him, that she was probably the reason that he had gone to Binns and confessed, but she couldn't shake the feeling that she had to constantly watch over him.

She heard Narcissa convince Bellatrix to give up; she heard the sighs and natural shift of sound returning, just as in a forest when a threat disappears out of sight. But she did not move for what seemed like a long while. It had been a long time since she had been able to kiss Sirius, and she had forgotten how much she had missed. Not that she would ever willingly admit it.

When she finally broke the kiss, he stayed a few moments in the goofy expression of someone waiting for a continuation and still very confused. When he realized that her lips were not be returning to his—or perhaps how silly he looked—he opened his eyes and smiled crookedly at her.

"So, are we ok now?" he said. Amelia did not like the arrogant, knowing tone in his voice. Even if she had been ready to forgive him (which she had), that tone meant that that notion was now thrown out the window.

She scowled, and slapped him. The sound, and Sirius' surprised expression, drew the gazes of every person in the hallway.

"You were a convenience," she said in a clipped voice, turning on her heel and marching away.

"Then why'd you take so long to end that kiss?" Sirius called behind her. It stopped Amelia in her tracks, angry that he'd been able to see through her. But without a word, she continued on her way.

"Dude," James said, slapping him on the back. "You totally got her with that one!"

"Hmm…" Remus murmured, scratching his chin nonchalantly. Sirius' relationship problems were only vaguely interesting to him, apparently. "But perhaps, that was not in your…best interests."

"Ha, of course it is, Remus!" James laughed. "She's got to know her place, right, Peter?"

"Yeah!" Peter said, rubbing his hands together. "She's got to know who wears the pants in the relationship."

Sirius cast a hard stare at both of them. "And what the hell would you two know about relationships?" he growled, before stalking off down the hallway.


End file.
